Zuttolin's Love
by mirokuslilly
Summary: Zuttolin is the 'new girl' on the ship. What happens when she falls for Duelo? And what will happen when Hibiki finally lets Dita know how he feels? Will Paiway get any love? Please R&R to find out.
1. Default Chapter

  
  
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Chapter One: Unspoken Feelings

Hibiki sighed. He wished that Jura would just shut up for once. "What's wrong Hibiki. Headache or something?" Jura asked looking at Hibiki. "A headache would be an understatement" Hibiki growled stomping off. Hibiki was headed to the greenhouse where he was almost certain that he could be alone. Hibiki sighed again as he reached the green house.

"Why does he hate me" a voice cried in the distance. "I know that voice" Hibiki whispered as he went around a large tree. Squeezed in between a bush and a tree was Dita sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, crying.

"Uhh..." Hibiki was lost. There was a part of him that wanted to run to Dita and comfort her. But there was another part of him urging himself to just turn around and not think of it.

Dita looked up for a moment to look around. "Is that you Meia" Dita looked around. "No but this is" Meia's voice rang from behind Hibiki.

Dita looked over to where Meia was whispering something into Hibiki's ear. Dita remained completely still for a moment but then, not knowing why, jumped up and ran away.

"NOW!!!" Meia yelled to Hibiki. Meia pushed Hibiki's back, shoving him in the direction Dita ran.

Confused, Hibiki ran towards Dita and did exactly as Meia had told him to. "Why am I doing what she tells me to all of the sudden" Hibiki muttered as he ran towards Dita. _Slow down wunda _Hibiki thought.

After a few minutes of chasing her, Hibiki finally caught up with Dita and firmly grasped her arm.

"You have been running from me for a week. Why are you avoiding me?!?" Hibiki yelled at Dita. "BECAUSE YOU HATE ME!!!!" Dita yelled with tears welling up in her eyes again. Dita fell to her knees and covered her face as she cried.

Hibiki leaned down towards Dita and sat quietly by her as she cried. "I'm sorry Dita" Hibiki whispered.

Dita woke up not knowing where she was. She looked around and noticed that she was sleeping in Hibiki's room. She quietly sat up and saw Hibiki sitting at the end of the bed. His head was hung and his face was covered in the emotion of confusion and pain. Hibiki had obviously noticed Dita's movement because he reared up and looked at Dita. "You cried yourself to sleep in the middle of the hallway so I brought you here" Hibiki said, his face beginning to turn slightly red. Dita looked down trying to avoid eye contact with Hibiki. "I am sorry I troubled you... I should go now" Dita said, standing up.

Just as Dita started to walk toward the door, Hibiki grabbed her hand. "Why are you always running away" he said in an angry voice.

"You told Pyoro that you hated me and then you told Gosco and Paiway the same thing" Dita looked down again. "I'm sorry. I guess that all people get afraid sometimes" Hibiki said more to himself than Dita. "What are you scared of" Dita asked having an idea that he was scared of his own feelings... just as she was. "Nothing" Hibiki growled but Dita was certain that he was scared of his feelings because Hibiki wrapped his hand around hers tighter.

Hibiki started to pull Dita closer just as Meia's voice rang threw the whole ship. "All vanguards get prepared for battle NOW!!!" Meia's voice reported.

Hibiki jumped up, still having Dita's hand in his, and pulled Dita behind him as he ran toward where is vanguard was.

"That was a good battle, don't you think Hibiki?" Jura winked at Hibiki. Hibiki rolled his eyes. Not paying to attention where he was going, Hibiki ran into Meia. "Come with me" Meia said signaling too not only Hibiki, but to Jura and Dita too.

All four people made their way to where the energy source was. All they knew to call it was the engine but everyone knew without saying that the blue ball of energy was something more. "Look" Meia pointed to a small point sticking out of the energy ball.

"It looks like a hand" Barnette, who had been waiting for them, said. Everyone looked at each other and exchanged confused glances. "It's moving" Dita yelled pointing upwards.

The hand extended and the ball let out an arm and then a whole body. The body was of a woman.

The woman looked as though she was only twenty years of age and even though it had just come out of the energy source, she was clothed in an ankle length, tight, blue dress that only showed a bit of her feet, her shoulders, and her arm. The woman floated there, above the ball, and suddenly she curled up into a tight ball. A scream echoed in everyone's mind as feathery white wings arched out of the girl's back.

After the wings came the girl started to fall and everyone knew that she wasn't awake.

They watched her fall for a few moments and the next thing that everyone knew, the woman had landed into Duelo's arm.

"How did you catch her. I mean, how were you there when no one else was?" Meia asked Duelo skeptically. "I'm not sure. I just felt I need to be there and this person is lucky that I did" Duelo explained to all of the confused girls.

All of the people in the room looked to the girl as her arm rose and the sat up. "Who helped me" the girl said in a sweet, almost angelic voice. Meia rose her laser ring to the girl "who are you first" she said.

The girl giggled. "My name is Zuttolin" she giggled some more.

"Zutto-lin?" Duelo asked. Zuttolin nodded "Are you confused about the zutto or the lin?" she laughed slightly. "Both for me" Hibiki said. "Lin is just an extra to my name... Zutto means forever" Zuttolin explained. "Why exactly are you 'forever'" Dita asked confused. "You might not understand" Zuttolin smiled.

She looked around. "You still have not told me who helped me Meia" Zuttolin frowned. "Meia put her laser ring back toward the angelic figure. "How do you know my name" Meia asked angrily. "Umm... lucky guess" Zuttolin smiled.

writers corner

**_You might not understand this so far so I will explain._**

Zutto is Japanese meaning forever.

Zuttolin was a name I created for an elf or angel.

Although Zuttolin isn't really an angel, she looks, sounds, and acts like one.

If you haven't noticed yet, Dita loves Hibiki and he DOES love her as well.

Jura also has a thing for Hibiki but he can't stand her.

Also, Duelo and Zuttolin will come to like each other.

"Thank you for helping me, Duelo" Zuttolin smiled. "You're welcome. At least we had another room open." Duelo said. Zuttolin nodded and continued to walk down the hall by Duelo's side. Zuttolin outstretched her wings for a moment and then quickly folded them neatly behind her back again.

_Out of at least a hundred women here, why does this one stand out to me so much? _Duelo thought to himself. "How do I stand out?" Zuttolin asked, smiling to Duelo. "Can you read minds?" Duelo was really confused.

Zuttolin shook her head. "I only read hearts. If you look deeply into a person's eyes you can see what they feel and even think. You were thinking that I stood out and I asked why." Zuttolin explained in her soft, angelic voice. Duelo was lost. "I don't understand. How can you do this?" Duelo didn't even know what he was saying.

"Never mind. I have seen at least ten other girls with long blue hair just as I do. But my wings are the problem. They make everyone afraid of me or just think that I am a freak" Zuttolin spoke in a sad way as she hung her head.

Duelo lifted her face gently with his hands and stared into her eyes. "I don't think you are a freak" Duelo said softly.

Zuttolin leaned close to Duelo and whispered "thank you" into his ear then as she pulled away, Zuttolin pressed her lips gently to Duelo's cheek.

As she pulled away, Zuttolin noticed that Duelo's face was partly red and that her face was burning up with embarrassment.

Duelo let his hands drift around Zuttolin's waist and pull her closer to him. Zuttolin put her arms around Duelo's neck and pulled herself closer still. "What is going on here?!?" Hibiki's voice caused Zuttolin and Duelo to break away from each other. Zuttolin looked downward and Duelo looked to Hibiki. "Ugh" Hibiki said in a disgusted voice as he stomped away.

Dita made her way to where she knew Hibiki would be working on his vanguard holding a small stuffed animal. "Mr. Alien?" Dita said looking around. She found Hibiki sitting down in an annoyed position.

"What is wrong Mr. Alien?" Dita said, hoping that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"I want to know what is going on around here. I found Zutto-whatever and Duelo hugging each other in the middle of the hallway today and now I am having these weird things happening to me!" Hibiki said angrily. "Did I do anything wrong?" Dita said taking a step closer to Hibiki. Hibiki looked at Dita and then turned away quickly. "N...no" Hibiki blushed.

"I brought you this" Dita sat next to Hibiki and placed the small stuffed kitten in his lap. "I made it. Do you like it?" Dita asked in a worried voice. Hibiki looked at the cat and then to Dita and smiled. "Yeah" he said. Hibiki leaned close to Dita as she smiled to him and pressed his lips softly to hers. He stayed that way for a moment then broke away. It was clear that Dita was confused, but Hibiki knew that he was at least five times more confused than she was.

"Dita...ready, Hibiki...ready, Barnette...ready, Jura...ready" the voices fluttered in to Buzam. "Okay everyone. Go get 'um" Buzam said energetically to the girls ... and Hibiki.... in the vanguards.

"Wait" a voice yelled from behind Buzam. "I want to go out there too. I want to help" Buzam turned and found that the person who 'wanted to help' was Zuttolin. "First of all, I don't think that you can fit into a vanguard. Second, even if you did you wouldn't know how to use it." Buzam said harshly to the angelic figure. "Just give me an air mask and I can fight. I was made to fight. That energy ball created me to be a weapon" Zuttolin begged.

Buzam grunted. "Fine. It's your funeral" Buzam said handing Zuttolin a mouth piece. "Just put that in your mouth and you can breathe just fine" Buzam wasn't happy about the girl going to fight.

Zuttolin could sense Buzam's unhappiness but she smiled "thank you for giving me a chance".

"Wow" Dita was amazed at seeing the angelic girl flying about space with ease. Even as Zuttolin fought, all of her strikes toward her opponents were like a graceful, but dangerous dance. Her wings fluttered and her rapier, which she provided from the energy ball, was light in her hand.

No one knew, but Duelo and Parfait were watching Zuttolin from a screen from Duelo's doctor's office.

"She seems like a good fighter" Parfait said as she took another swift bite from her chocolate ice cream. Duelo nodded but watched Zuttolin carefully. "At least she won't get hurt. That's obvious" Parfait smiled.

Duelo looked at Parfait. "Has it ever been known for one of your prisoners to fall in love with one of the women?" Duelo asked, starting to turn red.

Parfait nodded energetically. "It's quite exiting" she smiled. "Have you ever fallen in love?" Duelo asked. Even though he tried to hide it, Duelo was starting to feel something for both Parfait and Zuttolin.

Parfait was slightly red now and she looked at Duelo and simply said "I'm not really sure".

"Hmm..." Duelo began to think...


	2. Hibiki's Showdown

Chapter Two: Hibiki's Showdown Bart sneaked up behind Dita and began to stroke her cheek from behind. "Mr. ..." Dita spun around but when she saw Bart it wasn't a happy Mr. Alien that came out but... "Oh it's you Mr. Idiot". "Mr. Idiot?!?" Bart yelled. "I was just coming to say hi and to..." Bart tried to put on his best 'shy' act. "To what?" Dita asked curiously. "To tell you that I am beginning to feel for you" Bart was trying to fulfill Jura's plan of keeping Dita busy while Jura got to Hibiki. "Uhh..." Dita said in a confused manor. Bart grasped Dita's forearm tightly. "What you don't feel the same way?" Bart said in an almost mean way. "B...Bart... you're hurting my arm. Let go" Dita said clenching her eyes shut in pain. "No way" Bart said squeezing Dita's arm tighter. A tear streamed from Dita's eye. Dita screamed desperately. Bart threw his hand over Dita's mouth. Dita made a futile attempt to bite Bart's hand and when she finally succeeded, Bart flung his hand back and held it for a moment, which gave Dita another chance to scream. The scream was short and Bart quickly put his hand back over Dita's mouth.   
Hibiki heard a distant scream. "That sounds like... Dita" Hibiki said as he started running toward the scream. In a moment there was another one. "No" Hibiki yelled. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to her" Hibiki yelled again to himself. He remembered all of the mean things that he had said about her and never said that he was sorry. "I'm coming, Dita" Hibiki yelled. When Hibiki finally got to where Dita had been screaming, no one was there. He heard another scream soon, but this was not Dita's scream but Bart's instead. He ran towards the scream and that led him to Bart's room. He instantly burst into the room where he found Bart holding Dita down on his bed. Anger boiled inside of Hibiki. "Get off of her you -------" Hibiki yelled. Bart turned his head and found Hibiki. Hibiki punched Bart's cheek with the most powerful hit he had ever summoned from his body. The punch knocked Bart off of Dita and his own bed. Hibiki ran to Dita's side and found a bruise on her collarbone. Hibiki touched the bruise gently until Dita opened her eyes. "Mr. Alien..." Dita whispered. Suddenly, Hibiki felt a sharp pain hit his spine. Hibiki yelled and spun around to hit Bart with another powerful blow. Bart kicked Hibiki with all his strength in the kneecap. Hibiki fell to the ground and held his leg. Bart slammed his foot down to Hibiki's cheek. "Leave me alone Short Stop" Bart insulted Hibiki. Bart turned back around to face Dita and grabbed her throat. "Dita..." Hibiki muttered. Small flashes in his mind appeared showing Dita's smile and soft voice. All of the images faded as Hibiki heard Dita gasp for air. Hibiki uttered all of his strength to rise to his feet and grab Bart's neck. Hibiki squeezed Bart's neck with all of his might until Bart let go of Dita's neck and fell to the ground. Hibiki rushed to Dita's side and instantly noticed the red marks on her neck. "Are you okay Dita..." Hibiki felt his eyes start to sting as he noticed her ripped clothing. "I knew you cared, Hibiki" Dita smiled slightly, her eyes still closed. Hibiki felt tears sting his eyes. "She called me Hibiki" he said to himself.  
  
  
"I think that Dita will be okay and Bart will too. We will all try to keep a closer eye on him though" Duelo said after he examined both of the people that had been hurt. Hibiki grabbed Dita's hand and knew that she had been lucky that he had showed up. "We all knew you cared for her" Duelo's voice came from behind Hibiki. "Shut up. I don't love her" Hibiki said angrily, still holding Dita's hand though. "I never said that" Duelo said humorously. Hibiki knew that Duelo now knew that Hibiki DID love Dita, even though he wouldn't ever admit it.  
  
"I heard that something happened" Zuttolin came into the room where Dita was resting. She looked at Hibiki laying his head next to Dita's sleeping form and noticed that he was also holding her hand tightly in his. She walked over to Duelo and handed him the tray of food that she had been carrying. "I thought you might want something to eat" Zuttolin whispered. Duelo smiled, "thank you". Duelo took the tray and put it next to where he was writing something on a thin note pad. "May I ask you something, Duelo?" Zuttolin spoke softly. "Of course" Duelo replied, looking up from what he was writing. "Are you in love with Parfait? I have seen you two together quite often and I was just wondering. You don't have to tell me if it is too personal" Zuttolin's voice had turned to a sad expression. Duelo thought for a moment. "I'm not really all that sure. I have felt for her but I think I am falling for someone else" Duelo was rapidly turning red as he finished his last words. "If you don't mind me asking, who?" Zuttolin asked. Once she said that, Duelo went back to writing. Zuttolin bent down and pressed her lips against Duelo's cheek and kept her lips pressed against him until him turned his face toward her. Once he turned toward her she jumped back and walked out of the room.  
  



	3. Parfait's Confession

Chapter Three: Parfait's Confession Zuttolin sat in the darkest corner of her room that felt more like a prison to the angelic figure. Does he hate me? Zuttolin thought as she brought her wings around her in a protective way. When the door slammed open, Zuttolin flung her head up quickly. It was Duelo. Duelo rushed over to Zuttolin and tugged at her hair, making her face come inches from his. He pressed him lips against hers hard. Zuttolin just stood there, fading into the kiss. Then, out of the corner of her view, Zuttolin saw Parfait. Parfait looked heartbroken and hurt. Suddenly... "Zuttolin? I think I need to talk to you" Hibiki woke Zuttolin from her blissful dream. "Hi...Hibiki?" Zuttolin replied sleepily. "Yes" Hibiki's voice was full of confusion but Zuttolin also felt hurt in his voice. Zuttolin sat up from her position on the floor. She noticed that she fell asleep in the darkest corner of her room with a tear stained face. "What is it Hibiki" Zuttolin called to the dark figure in front of her. "It's Dita. Every time I get around her now, I feel.... tingly" Hibiki answered in a very confused fashion. "First of all, why did you come to me?" the thought had just dawned on her that Hibiki had come to her when she always thought that he would go to Duelo. "I'm not sure. I was going to go to Duelo or Ezera if I went to a girl. I was on my way to the doctor's section but I found myself here instead." even Hibiki wasn't sure why he came. There was a moment of silence and then Hibiki rose his voice to a higher tone than he had started off with. "Why do I feel this way around her" Hibiki asked in confusion and anger. "Because you l..." Zuttolin started but for some reason the word love stuck in her throat. She tried opening her mouth but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't utter love. So she just poured herself out to Hibiki. "You love her. You love Dita" Zuttolin yelled as tears streamed down her face. Without noticing, Zuttolin dropped her face into the person sitting in front of her. "You love her..." Zuttolin sobbed into Hibiki's lap. "You love Parfait" she sobbed, just realizing that with Parfait and Duelo, there was love. "It was so obvious and I was the only one who didn't know" Zuttolin curled her wings around her. "Hey now, don't cry. So what if Duelo loves Parfait" Hibiki said, knowing that Zuttolin was falling fast for Duelo. It was like she was falling right back into his arms like the first day she had come out of that weird energy source. Hibiki knew that his statement was rude and that she would clobber him for it, but she didn't. Zuttolin just kept crying into his lap.  
  
Laughter filled Duelo's ear as Zuttolin came down the hall. "Come on... how stupid can this guy get. You are so funny Hibiki" Zuttolin laughed at Hibiki's joke. Duelo frowned. What's with this sudden friendship Duelo thought. What's wrong with me... am I getting jealous? Duelo tried to make sense of his feelings but he couldn't sort out the emotions towards both Parfait and Zuttolin. Duelo went out into the hallway where he saw Hibiki and Zuttolin walking side-by-side towards the café section of the ship. He walked a few feet ahead of them and into the café. He walked over and got some pocky and sat down at a table where Hibiki usually sat. After a few minutes, Zuttolin entered the room with Hibiki at her side. "Hi Dita" Zuttolin greeted Dita in a friendly voice. Duelo turned swiftly to see Hibiki kissing Dita on the cheek and Zuttolin standing by them quietly. When they all headed over to get their food, Duelo went over to stand by Zuttolin. "Zuttolin..." Duelo said in his emotionless voice. Zuttolin looked at Duelo for a moment but then just turned back to Dita and started talking about the vanguards. Duelo put his hand on Zuttolin's shoulder and turned her around to face him, "Will you at least talk to me" Duelo said raising his voice. "Not here, not now, probably not ever" Zuttolin said annoyed. "I need to talk to you, Zuttolin" Duelo said loudly. "Later okay!" Zuttolin yelled, stomping out of the room. Hibiki and Dita looked at each other, and followed Zuttolin.  
"You seem upset. What's wrong Duelo?" Parfait asked, concerned. "Zuttolin won't even talk to me and now I just can't understand what I did wrong." Duelo said writing something on that same little note pad. "Isn't obvious?" Parfait asked. "What" Duelo returned. "Zuttolin loves you. Do you think that it was CHANCE that she fell into your arms instead of anyone else. She chose you, Duelo. Zuttolin is the energy source of this ship. SHE is the engine" Parfait said wisely. Duelo looked at Parfait and his eyes told her that he was confused. "I studied the energy ball since I first came to this ship. There was always a small shadow deep inside of it that looked like an angel with it's arms stretched out like it was ready for an embrace. When I took my telescope to look closer at it, the figure had tiny dots on it's face. Now that I know Zuttolin, I know that those dots were tears" Parfait explained to Duelo. "Zuttolin... loves...me..."Duelo's voice was full of confusion and wonder. Parfait nodded and looked down into her lap, "She's not the only one though" Parfait said shyly. "She's not?" Duelo asked in suspicion. Parfait shook her head but kept it lowered. "I'm glad" Duelo smiled as he put his hand on Parfait's chin and lifted her face. Duelo noticed Parfait's flushed face but it didn't matter. He leaned close to her and pressed his lips softly to hers. Duelo felt and hand on the back of his head as Parfait deepened the kiss slightly. Duelo put other hand to Parfait's cheek and made the kiss deeper still until Parfait finally broke away a little. Parfait put her forehead to Duelo's chest and whispered, "I'm not sure this is fair to Zuttolin. She has been watching you since you first got on this ship. Even though I do, she loves you more than I." Duelo nodded slightly. "I'm sorry" Parfait said as she rose to her feet and left the room. Duelo sighed as she left. I just can win one heart. I have to win two and now neither want to be with me. I just can't win with these women!!! Duelo thought angrily. For the first time, Duelo thought about the two women. If something were to happen, who would be there beside him the longest? Who would be the one to love him no matter what mess he got into. Zuttolin.... or.... Parfait.... 


	4. Ai Shiteru Zutto

Chapter Four: "Ai Shiteru.... Zutto" "Hiya" Zuttolin screamed as she threw her sword through another of her enemies. Dita looked back at Hibiki. She felt better as a fused vanguard when they were fighting the enemies but now she was concerned about Zuttolin. "Why are her attacks so angry? I liked her fighting so much better when it was like a dance. When it was graceful" Dita asked Hibiki in a voice that he couldn't ignore. "I think she really is upset." Hibiki answered, also worried. "Duelo really hurt her... didn't he" Dita looked at Hibiki. Hibiki just nodded and sighed. Dita turned back around to help fight off any remaining enemies but there were none. "She... killed... them...all?" Dita tried to keep her words strait. Hibiki nodded and turned the vanguard around.  
  
"Is now the time to talk to you" Duelo said as he entered Zuttolin's room. Zuttolin turned and snorted. "Talk if you want" she said angrily. "Can you tell me why you have suddenly started to hate me" Duelo asked in the first words of emotion Zuttolin had ever heard him mutter. "I just don't want to get in the way" Zuttolin said, choking back tears. "Of what?" Duelo asked in a nearly annoyed way. "You and Parfait. You are so perfect for her and she is so perfect for you. I wanted to stay out of that" tears started to form in Zuttolin's eyes. "If I may say, I talked to Parfait today. She said the same thing and I told her that I...." Duelo stopped as he noticed Zuttolin had turned to face him. "You what" she retorted in a irritated fashion. "That I wanted you and that I chose you... no matter how much I loved her, it felt as though you were a part of me now" Duelo said bravely. Zuttolin narrowed her eyes at Duelo. "I don't believe you" was all she had to say. Duelo's emotionless eyes filled with sadness and betrayal. "How can I make you believe me" Duelo offered. "I don't know Duelo!" Zuttolin yelled. At this sudden change of mood, her wings flew out to her side. Duelo took a step toward the heavenly figure. He took two more steps until his face was just inches from Zuttolin's. Duelo extended his hand and touched one of the outstretched wings. He instantly felt a soft group of feathers under his hand. Duelo took a few feathers in his hand and pulled them with all of his strength. Zuttolin screamed in pain. Duelo stopped pulling on the feathers. "If you felt that at all, then I love you" Duelo said plainly. "Duelo..." Zuttolin could not find words to express how she felt now. "I don't know what to do" Zuttolin tried to hold back more tears. "I think now would be the good time for you to kiss me" Duelo whispered. Zuttolin laughed and jumped into Duelo's arms. She rose her head slightly and looked deep into Duelo's eyes and kissed him passionately. Duelo returned the kiss and placed his hands gently on Zuttolin's waist. Zuttolin deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. After a few minutes, Zuttolin broke away from Duelo and placed her head on his chest. "Heartbeat..." Zuttolin whispered. Duelo was confused by her whispers. "What do you mean by that?" he asked quietly. Zuttolin looked up at Duelo. "It means that there is only a certain amount of time that I have to spend with you before Death comes" she said in a low voice. She spoke of death as if it were a person or a being. Duelo dismissed her death-as-a-person talk and shook his head. "No. You have all the time in the universe to spent with me" Duelo said gently. Zuttolin laughed a little. "How so?" she asked in wonder. "Ai shiteru.... zutto" Duelo said in a loving voice. Zuttolin rested her head back against Duelo's chest. "Forever" Zuttolin savored the word in her mouth. For once, Zuttolin felt complete. She no longer felt like a part of her was missing. And she knew that the void that had been there once was filled.... forever. 


	5. Dita's Revenge and Help

Chapter Five: Dita's Revenge and Help Dita sat up, weak and confused. She felt like her head had been spinning for a while now but this was the first time it had ever hurt when she first woke up. She placed her hand gently on her own throat and rubbed where a bruise and a memory and been left from her not-so-good experience. A small voice without a form told her this pain will only leave if you get... REVENGE. The voice sounded mean and evil but she could not ignore it's advice and so she quietly climbed out of her bed and tiptoed down the hall to where she knew Bart's room was. With no noise at all, Dita opened to door and welcomed herself in. she looked down at the sleeping figure of Bart and whispered, "Gomen". At that one word, Dita slammed her hand down over Bart's throat and squeezed as hard as she could. Bart instantly woke up and started gasping for air but all he could see was this pair of deep red eyes hovering above him. "Di...ta" he muttered. Dita instantly let go of Bart's throat and fell back. "I am sorry. I don't know what happened" Dita explained with fear in her own voice. "Well... I do know a way that you could repay me" Bart said in an evilish tone. "What" Dita said with fear. "You could stay away from Hibiki. If you do that I will forgive you" Bart said simply. "N..no. I wouldn't do that.... I couldn't do that." Dita stumbled back as she tried to exit the room. "Fine then" Bart said in an unsatisfied way. Bart grabbed Dita by the throat but Dita struggled her way out of Bart's grasp quickly. "Not this time" Dita yelled, kneeing Bart in the c. Bart fell instantly and Dita rushed over to another room. She stumbled to find a light and flickered it on quickly. "Who's there" a familiar voice asked. "Hibiki, this is your room? I thought you were across the hall?" Dita asked quickly. Hibiki shook his head. Dita heard a noise behind her and turned swiftly around. Hibiki saw Dita throw her fist at the figure and then quickly rush over to him. Dita turned to look back at the door and rushed back over to close it. Hibiki saw a hand in the door as Dita shut it. It obviously hurt the person because Hibiki heard a scream and the hand drew back. "Was that Bart" Hibiki asked. Dita nodded and walked over to Hibiki. "Do you mind if I stay here until Bart leaves and goes back into his room?" Dita asked pleadingly. "You might want to stay here all night. If there's one thing I know about Bart... it's that he's not really one for giving up easily" Hibiki said even though he knew that Bart actually gave up fairly quickly. "I guess you are right. You know Bart a lot better than I do" Dita said believing Hibiki. Hibiki stood from his bed and walked over to Dita. He put his hand to her icy cheek and then swiftly drew it back. "You're cold Dita" he said quietly. Dita put her hand to her own cheek and shivered. Hibiki grabbed Dita from behind by the shoulders and lead her over to his bed. He took a blanket and covered Dita's shoulders gently. "Thank you" Dita said sitting down on Hibiki's bed. Hibiki sat close to Dita and smiled at her. Dita smiled back and for the first time, she leaned in towards him and touched her lips to his tenderly. She broke away and looked down, her face flushed. "No" Hibiki said pulling her face up so he could see her eyes. He leaned over to her and put his lips to hers passionately. Dita deepened the kiss and put her hand to the back of Hibiki's shoulders. Hibiki put his hands on Dita's shoulders and pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss even more.  
  
Dita woke up and looked around. Her first thought was this isn't my room. That's when she noticed an arm around her waist and a body pressed up against hers. She looked back and saw a sleeping Hibiki. Dita smiled and flipped over on her side so she could see Hibiki without keeping her neck in a painful position. She snuggled a little closer to Hibiki and he stirred. She didn't notice that Hibiki's eyes opened and that his grip on her waist tightened. Dita's eyes flew open when Hibiki yawned and pulled her closer to him. "Dita, people will be coming any minute now to wake me up. It happens every morning" Hibiki whispered to the beautiful girl that was lying beside him. "I need to leave" she said sitting up and stretching. Hibiki sat up as well and handed her the cut off jacket as she stood. "Thank you... for everything" Dita said staring into Hibiki's eyes. Hibiki leaned closer to her and kissed her lips for a moment then broke away. "See you in a few hours" Dita said exiting the room. 


	6. What Happened To Zutto!

Chapter Six: "What Happened To Zutto!" "Zuttolin wake up" Meia's voice came harshly. Zuttolin stretched, "what is it Meia" she yawned. "It's Duelo. Bart was caught wondering around angrily and he attacked Duelo. Duelo was unaware of the attack and both of them fell from a bridge leading to the engine. They fell twenty-five feet." Meia explained quickly. Zuttolin was now sitting up in her bed, teary eyed and when she opened her mouth to ask if Duelo was okay, Meia instantly said "no". "We thought that you should come. Hurry up" Meia spoke in her cold, emotionless voice. Zuttolin got up and followed Meia quietly as she lead her to a large door that had ER painted in big red letters. Zuttolin knew what those big letters meant and tears started to fall down her face, though she made no noise. Meia walked up to the door and put her hand to a small pad that instantly said 'access granted'. At that, the door opened and people were rushing around two beds. Zuttolin rushed to one of the beds and saw Bart lying there. She frowned down at the figure until she heard a small, hoarse voice. "Did you come here to see my attacker Zuttolin?" Duelo's voice was weak and sounded like it hurt him just to talk. Zuttolin walked over to the other bed where Duelo was lying. Zuttolin gazed down at the hurtful sight. Duelo's arm was split open from the wrist to the shoulder from the fall and his chest was bruised and split open as well. "I tried to break my fall with my arm" Duelo said as he noticed Zuttolin looking at his chest and arm. Tears streamed down Zuttolin's face and she sat down onto Duelo's bed and placed her head on Duelo's battered chest. She cried into his chest for a long time and he stroked her hair as if to say that everything would be okay. But everything wouldn't be okay. Duelo's heart had been hurt as well. His heartbeat was slowing down and the doctors didn't have the will to tell all of this to Zuttolin. One of the female doctors finally tapped Zuttolin on the shoulder and whispered "I'm sorry but you have to leave". Zuttolin looked at Duelo once more and kissed his chest lightly. She looked up at the doctor and looked deep into her eyes. "His heart... don't let it kill him" she whispered and left. Zuttolin heard the nurse gasp. As Zuttolin began to leave she looked back at Duelo and whispered something in a alien language.  
  
"Zuttolin" a nurse tapped Zuttolin's shoulder. Zuttolin turned and asked the nurse what was wrong. "Duelo wants you to come. He said that you were the last person he wanted to see." as the nurse finished what she was saying, Zuttolin felt her heart slow and freeze in her chest. "Last one" Zuttolin repeated as the nurse led her to the same room that she had visited earlier. When the door opened, Zuttolin rushed over to Duelo and looked down at him. He reached his arm up at her, but Zuttolin backed away. "Don't do that. Don't act like you are going to die Duelo" she whispered to him as she noticed the group of cords hooked up to him arm. Duelo looked sadly at Zuttolin. "You aren't gonna die" she laughed through tears. Duelo closed his eyes and shook his head. "You can't leave though. You said zutto... What happened to zutto Duelo." Zuttolin cried. Zuttolin stepped toward Duelo and lay down beside him on the hard hospital bed. "Duelo, I don't want to leave you and I am begging you to not leave me" she cried into his chest. Duelo put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "I'm not leaving you" he whispered. Zuttolin squirmed close to Duelo and pressed her body up against his. She gently put her head directly above his heart. "If you are going to die, I want to hear your last heartbeat" Zuttolin whispered. Her tears soaked Duelo's chest. "Something is changing with patient 1522546" one of the nurses yelled. "His heartbeat has regulated" the same nurse yelled. Zuttolin held a small hope in her heart that Duelo's number was just that number but she knew that it was a VERY small chance. "My number..." Duelo whispered weakly. Zuttolin lifted her head from Duelo's chest and looked into his eyes. It was clear that she was questioning him saying 'my number'. "My number is 1522546" Duelo repeated and smiled. Zuttolin sat up and stared at Duelo blankly. "How did this happen" she stared into his eyes. Duelo grabbed Zuttolin's hand and smiled up at her. "Some say that love is the strongest medicine. Zuttolin smiled and lay her head back on Duelo's chest. 


End file.
